Monday April 20, 2009
When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. John 10:4-5.
This text is a poignant reminder of the eastern sheep who know instinctively whom they can trust. In the final analysis, it is not all the logical reasons why we may trust Christ for our lives and eternity—as supportive and helpful as they may be—but an instinctive knowledge of where we belong and whom we can trust that inspires faith. In Spurgeon’s morning devotional for today he says: “Death is no longer banishment, it is a return from exile.” Trusting in Christ is the beginning of the trip home, a return to the place that we were always meant to be.
Following Christ, as the sheep followed their shepherd, is the natural way to go, to reject him is as unnatural as a starving man refusing food. Whatever life brings us, we are safer in his hands than not, to turn away from him in times of distress is like cutting off a branch on which we are sitting. It will not necessarily change our situation—it may improve or it may not, but the peace that comes from a mind stayed on him is the greatest loss. We find this to be true as Ann and I move out of one adventure—our surgeries—and into the next, the distribution of our soon to be published book.
Following the removal of the final piece of mechanical equipment from my body and Ann’s final trip to her surgeon on Thursday, we are looking forward to a few years yet of opportunity for service. Ann completes her Political Science degree at Christmas this year, and I have a second book on the go with others lurking in the back of my mind. We are excited at the possibilities that a combination of theology and political science may conjure up as we face off against the secular thinking of our day. Our future looks promising and meaningful as we follow our shepherd and look to him for guidance and inspiration.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
Friday April 17, 2009
The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2.
It would be difficult to state a sense of security in stronger terms! This was the experience of the psalm writer but also the experience of countless men and women who have trusted God through the centuries. This not only for times of peace, but particularly during the most vulnerable times of life, the voice of faith finds its ultimate safety in God, whether in life or death.
For Ann and myself, the last weeks have been trying and we are not out of the woods yet, but believe healing is a matter of time. In fact, Ann’s foot is only an inconvenience now, and the last bandages will be removed Monday. For myself, there are days of discomfort still, although the greatest discomfort, that wretched catheter is due for removal Monday. When it comes to personal security, under current conditions the body’s natural functions do come to mind!
But this weekend will be an adventure. It is my first foray since surgery for any distance from home as we attend a writer’s conference in Calgary, about 200 km north. In addition, we have one proof copy of our new book Happy Together: Daily Insights for Families from Scripture. It will be an opportunity to commence some promotion on the conference book table and gauge interest. It will be about 3-4 weeks before we actually have printed copies in our hot little hands. Let us know if you would like more information about the book.
So for a number of reasons, our security continues to be in our Heavenly Father for this weekend and the weeks that follow.
The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2.
It would be difficult to state a sense of security in stronger terms! This was the experience of the psalm writer but also the experience of countless men and women who have trusted God through the centuries. This not only for times of peace, but particularly during the most vulnerable times of life, the voice of faith finds its ultimate safety in God, whether in life or death.
For Ann and myself, the last weeks have been trying and we are not out of the woods yet, but believe healing is a matter of time. In fact, Ann’s foot is only an inconvenience now, and the last bandages will be removed Monday. For myself, there are days of discomfort still, although the greatest discomfort, that wretched catheter is due for removal Monday. When it comes to personal security, under current conditions the body’s natural functions do come to mind!
But this weekend will be an adventure. It is my first foray since surgery for any distance from home as we attend a writer’s conference in Calgary, about 200 km north. In addition, we have one proof copy of our new book Happy Together: Daily Insights for Families from Scripture. It will be an opportunity to commence some promotion on the conference book table and gauge interest. It will be about 3-4 weeks before we actually have printed copies in our hot little hands. Let us know if you would like more information about the book.
So for a number of reasons, our security continues to be in our Heavenly Father for this weekend and the weeks that follow.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Tuesday April 14, 2009
Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding. Proverbs 23:23.
Today is the day Ann had her bandages removed from her foot. For the last few days thay haven’t really been holding her back anyway, except she hasn’t been able to drive. That provides me with some of the exercise routine needed to heal together with the resting I’m supposed to do. However, Ann has taken off with the car this afternoon to run some errands. I’d say she was practically back to normal.
Just as well, my surgery is going to take a little longer. Yesterday was an expected down day following invitations to supper over the week end, and overdoing it somewhat. It is surprising that some discomfort can affect the way we think; it was a discouraging day also. One side effect of this surgery is the rattling of all the nerves around the abdomen. They are responding as they heal with an insistent demand that they be recognised by a recurrent itchy sensation. Otherwise, today has been a better day although progress is slow but normal.
Our text suggests getting discipline is a good thing. I am certainly finding out the hard way to discipline myself for healing, when there is so much else I want to be doing. But even this time aside is not without its usefulness. If nothing else, it teaches patience and these things will pass if I am prepared to wait. A nurse friend of ours reckons that healing from surgery takes six weeks. This is one truth I’m not really interested in buying, but I guess it’s not one I can dispense with either!
Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding. Proverbs 23:23.
Today is the day Ann had her bandages removed from her foot. For the last few days thay haven’t really been holding her back anyway, except she hasn’t been able to drive. That provides me with some of the exercise routine needed to heal together with the resting I’m supposed to do. However, Ann has taken off with the car this afternoon to run some errands. I’d say she was practically back to normal.
Just as well, my surgery is going to take a little longer. Yesterday was an expected down day following invitations to supper over the week end, and overdoing it somewhat. It is surprising that some discomfort can affect the way we think; it was a discouraging day also. One side effect of this surgery is the rattling of all the nerves around the abdomen. They are responding as they heal with an insistent demand that they be recognised by a recurrent itchy sensation. Otherwise, today has been a better day although progress is slow but normal.
Our text suggests getting discipline is a good thing. I am certainly finding out the hard way to discipline myself for healing, when there is so much else I want to be doing. But even this time aside is not without its usefulness. If nothing else, it teaches patience and these things will pass if I am prepared to wait. A nurse friend of ours reckons that healing from surgery takes six weeks. This is one truth I’m not really interested in buying, but I guess it’s not one I can dispense with either!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Easter Sunday April 12, 2009
We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. 1 Corinthians 15:51.
As we found on Good Friday, the Bible League diary tends to ignore the events of the church calendar, in today’s case Easter Sunday—perhaps vying with Christmas day as the most important event. The text I selected today is one that some comic placed on a church nursery door! But its real truth is supported by Jesus’ own resurrection—as he conquered death, so we who believe are also guaranteed victory over death. And as the flower is different from the seed which produces it, so our new bodies will be greatly enhanced in beauty and function. Read the whole chapter, it is an exciting portrait of our future.
I recall my father comparing the caterpillar and the butterfly. Although not a scriptural comparison, it is never-the-less a remarkable symbol of resurrection. Caterpillars, though some are attractive and some not so, are all earthbound, living a mundane and perilous existence close to the ground. But they all, after sleeping in a cocoon, awake to a glorious body, free to fly the heavens and spread their gorgeous new plumage.
Those of us with infirmities—mine I trust is temporary—long for the day of resurrection when our new makeover will free us from the setbacks of life. The greater the adversity of life, the greater the longing for that resurrection day when our frail bodies will be translated into a new and glorious life. While we celebrate the release from judgment by the death of Jesus on Good Friday, his resurrection on Easter Sunday is the guarantee, not only of our freedom from sin, but also our own resurrection to new life
We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. 1 Corinthians 15:51.
As we found on Good Friday, the Bible League diary tends to ignore the events of the church calendar, in today’s case Easter Sunday—perhaps vying with Christmas day as the most important event. The text I selected today is one that some comic placed on a church nursery door! But its real truth is supported by Jesus’ own resurrection—as he conquered death, so we who believe are also guaranteed victory over death. And as the flower is different from the seed which produces it, so our new bodies will be greatly enhanced in beauty and function. Read the whole chapter, it is an exciting portrait of our future.
I recall my father comparing the caterpillar and the butterfly. Although not a scriptural comparison, it is never-the-less a remarkable symbol of resurrection. Caterpillars, though some are attractive and some not so, are all earthbound, living a mundane and perilous existence close to the ground. But they all, after sleeping in a cocoon, awake to a glorious body, free to fly the heavens and spread their gorgeous new plumage.
Those of us with infirmities—mine I trust is temporary—long for the day of resurrection when our new makeover will free us from the setbacks of life. The greater the adversity of life, the greater the longing for that resurrection day when our frail bodies will be translated into a new and glorious life. While we celebrate the release from judgment by the death of Jesus on Good Friday, his resurrection on Easter Sunday is the guarantee, not only of our freedom from sin, but also our own resurrection to new life
Friday, April 10, 2009
Good Friday April 10, 2009
I usually provide a scripture at the head of these blogs, taken from the Bible League’s yearly diary. However, while the Bible League diary acknowledges today as Good Friday, it has the most inappropriate text for the day which I hesitate to display. Instead, it is far more important to give some thought once again to the meaning of the cross. But a lifetime of Easters narrows down the amount of unused ideas I have left, in addition to the thoughts about Easter from the universal church over the last two millennia.
Yet the events of life that we pass through continually offer fresh insights into the crucifixion. Particularly, my own surgery adds real meaning to the cross. You may remember that at my pre-op a couple of weeks before surgery, I was given an armband with name and barcode on it—with dire warnings not to remove it or “you’ll get no blood transfusions, nothin’ if you don’t have it on for surgery.” My surgeon told me I a lost a lot of blood during the extended surgery time and transfusions were needed. I’m just glad I kept that armband on!
It feels a little peculiar to think that I have someone else’s blood flowing through my arteries and veins. Although I have been a blood donor most of my life, I am particularly grateful for that one who donated blood for me. The parallel is all too clear. I am eternally grateful for the blood that was given for me at the cross. Human blood gives me existence, but the only life that has meaning is the transcendent life gained through acquiring the blood of Jesus Christ. Because his blood was real, purpose for this life and assurance for the next is also real.
To come back to the mundane, on Wednesday the doctor removed the hemovac line draining the wound and staples holding my stomach together—it’s still holding!—as promised. Life is still hampered by a catheter, but I’m learning how to cope with it until April 20th when it will be removed. Meantime, ablutions and a shower plus the shenanigans necessary to survive my post surgery world take an hour or so each morning. Then I need time to rest! Returning strength will take time, but progresses—after all, God is the real healer.
You can’t keep a good woman down. It is three days since Ann’s foot surgery, but the fine weather has called her into the garden where she is happily pottering. That after a morning littering the kitchen as she cooks up a storm. My appetite isn’t taking too long to return!
I usually provide a scripture at the head of these blogs, taken from the Bible League’s yearly diary. However, while the Bible League diary acknowledges today as Good Friday, it has the most inappropriate text for the day which I hesitate to display. Instead, it is far more important to give some thought once again to the meaning of the cross. But a lifetime of Easters narrows down the amount of unused ideas I have left, in addition to the thoughts about Easter from the universal church over the last two millennia.
Yet the events of life that we pass through continually offer fresh insights into the crucifixion. Particularly, my own surgery adds real meaning to the cross. You may remember that at my pre-op a couple of weeks before surgery, I was given an armband with name and barcode on it—with dire warnings not to remove it or “you’ll get no blood transfusions, nothin’ if you don’t have it on for surgery.” My surgeon told me I a lost a lot of blood during the extended surgery time and transfusions were needed. I’m just glad I kept that armband on!
It feels a little peculiar to think that I have someone else’s blood flowing through my arteries and veins. Although I have been a blood donor most of my life, I am particularly grateful for that one who donated blood for me. The parallel is all too clear. I am eternally grateful for the blood that was given for me at the cross. Human blood gives me existence, but the only life that has meaning is the transcendent life gained through acquiring the blood of Jesus Christ. Because his blood was real, purpose for this life and assurance for the next is also real.
To come back to the mundane, on Wednesday the doctor removed the hemovac line draining the wound and staples holding my stomach together—it’s still holding!—as promised. Life is still hampered by a catheter, but I’m learning how to cope with it until April 20th when it will be removed. Meantime, ablutions and a shower plus the shenanigans necessary to survive my post surgery world take an hour or so each morning. Then I need time to rest! Returning strength will take time, but progresses—after all, God is the real healer.
You can’t keep a good woman down. It is three days since Ann’s foot surgery, but the fine weather has called her into the garden where she is happily pottering. That after a morning littering the kitchen as she cooks up a storm. My appetite isn’t taking too long to return!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Wednesday April 8, 2009
He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy. Job 8:21.
This time in our lives and health is not the place of laughter and joy—at least not all the time. Mind you, we do see the funny side of things quite frequently, and that helps to keep us sane. As most of you will recall, we live a busy lifestyle; after all, we are still only in our early seventies, but to see us both now moving around as if we had one foot in the grave . . .
Ann had her surgery yesterday, and arrived home about 7.00 p.m. quite elated. The cause of her elation? On arrival in the operating room she was given a choice of general anaesthetic or an epidural (spinal injection) and she chose the latter; she was quite proud of herself. Way to go, Ann. The surgeon chatted away while fixing her toe, although she found the sound of the saw a little disturbing. This morning we were slow moving at first, but by noon Ann was walking (carefully) on the foot without even the support of a cane.
Fortunately, we have the option of doing only the necessary things, and resting when we need to. I have taken things easy this morning as I have to see my surgeon this afternoon. I felt good yesterday and as expected, not so good today. Healing is often two steps forward and one back; or overdoing it one day and paying for it the next. But overall, we both feel grateful for the pleasure of the returning strength we feel.
We both enjoy life the life God has graciously afforded us, and he has provided us with a full sense of humour. And as our text says, he will yet fill our mouths with laughter and our lips with shouts of joy. What an awesome God we serve.
He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy. Job 8:21.
This time in our lives and health is not the place of laughter and joy—at least not all the time. Mind you, we do see the funny side of things quite frequently, and that helps to keep us sane. As most of you will recall, we live a busy lifestyle; after all, we are still only in our early seventies, but to see us both now moving around as if we had one foot in the grave . . .
Ann had her surgery yesterday, and arrived home about 7.00 p.m. quite elated. The cause of her elation? On arrival in the operating room she was given a choice of general anaesthetic or an epidural (spinal injection) and she chose the latter; she was quite proud of herself. Way to go, Ann. The surgeon chatted away while fixing her toe, although she found the sound of the saw a little disturbing. This morning we were slow moving at first, but by noon Ann was walking (carefully) on the foot without even the support of a cane.
Fortunately, we have the option of doing only the necessary things, and resting when we need to. I have taken things easy this morning as I have to see my surgeon this afternoon. I felt good yesterday and as expected, not so good today. Healing is often two steps forward and one back; or overdoing it one day and paying for it the next. But overall, we both feel grateful for the pleasure of the returning strength we feel.
We both enjoy life the life God has graciously afforded us, and he has provided us with a full sense of humour. And as our text says, he will yet fill our mouths with laughter and our lips with shouts of joy. What an awesome God we serve.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Tuesday April 7, 2009
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3.
It`s now three days since I arrived home from the Hospital, and an eventful three days it has been. At least now free of IV tubes and gas lines I now only have to cope with drainage from the wound—a hemovac line into a suction container attached or carried somewhere on my person, and of course, that contraption of the devil, a catheter, complete with night bag and day bag. The most simple manoeuvres take on the dexterity of a contortionist, while trying to avoid the twists and turns that remind me of why things are this way!
We made two visits to emergency. Sunday night I found that abominable hemovac line was blocked and the exit wound oozing at about 11.00 p.m. That was fixed by a hospital flush and a return to bed about 3.30 a.m. Monday evening, the same exit wound was becoming infected, and a new visit to emergency produce a couple of vials of antibiotics. Healing is not a straight line!
However, today I am feeling much more in control, able to cope with these latest life games within a somewhat organised framework. Just as well, as Ann is off to surgery today to have a bunion removed. I have the house more or less to myself—some kind folk called in to ensure I was OK—so it is a God given (forced!) opportunity to make sure that I can cope reasonably with the daily round. Of greater joy is that tomorrow the hemovac tube and my staples will be removed. One more step towards liberation.
Believe me, I am intensely grateful for the professionals, equipment and gadgets that enabled my operation and its continuing recovery. But there will be a time when all sickness and death will be wiped out, our own resurrection to new life guaranteed by Christ`s own resurrection and victory over death. No more staples and drainage lines! Thus, however great my thankfulness of the benefits of this life, I can heartily join with Peter in praising ``the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.``
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3.
It`s now three days since I arrived home from the Hospital, and an eventful three days it has been. At least now free of IV tubes and gas lines I now only have to cope with drainage from the wound—a hemovac line into a suction container attached or carried somewhere on my person, and of course, that contraption of the devil, a catheter, complete with night bag and day bag. The most simple manoeuvres take on the dexterity of a contortionist, while trying to avoid the twists and turns that remind me of why things are this way!
We made two visits to emergency. Sunday night I found that abominable hemovac line was blocked and the exit wound oozing at about 11.00 p.m. That was fixed by a hospital flush and a return to bed about 3.30 a.m. Monday evening, the same exit wound was becoming infected, and a new visit to emergency produce a couple of vials of antibiotics. Healing is not a straight line!
However, today I am feeling much more in control, able to cope with these latest life games within a somewhat organised framework. Just as well, as Ann is off to surgery today to have a bunion removed. I have the house more or less to myself—some kind folk called in to ensure I was OK—so it is a God given (forced!) opportunity to make sure that I can cope reasonably with the daily round. Of greater joy is that tomorrow the hemovac tube and my staples will be removed. One more step towards liberation.
Believe me, I am intensely grateful for the professionals, equipment and gadgets that enabled my operation and its continuing recovery. But there will be a time when all sickness and death will be wiped out, our own resurrection to new life guaranteed by Christ`s own resurrection and victory over death. No more staples and drainage lines! Thus, however great my thankfulness of the benefits of this life, I can heartily join with Peter in praising ``the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.``
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